Consider longer jail terms for gun crimes

The ongoing mindless criminal violence in the USA continues to generate the well-meaning and/or reactionary suggestions regarding our personal possession and use of firearms (guns of all sorts).

It seems that most are guided by well-worn arguments and perhaps a lack of reasoned consideration. For example: One, we have a right to carry guns, even loaded ones. Guns don't hurt us. Bad guys hurt us. Fight fire with fire if necessary. Two, we can tweak the where, when and how of gun laws, and then closely watch for changes in the violent crime statistics. Or three, we need a thorough overhaul of our gun laws, and future generations must be guided by moral standards and personal responsibility with and for each other.

Isn't it appropriate, at this point, having seen so much agony, misunderstanding and grief, that we can unite with a universal standard regarding the penal code (involving the use of these weapons), such as to say that we might consider mandatory jail terms (20 years) for violent crimes committed with the inclusion of an illegal or unlicensed firearm. We have a long way to go in sorting all this, but shouldn't such a suggestion be part of the discussion?